Return to Cauldron Home Page

Please donate now to pay our monthly server fees:
Donate to The Cauldron
[More Info]

Community Menu
Community Home

Message Board
Board Home
Board Rules
Board Extras:
   Arcade
   Calendar
   Links

CauldronMUX [Client]
Sister Forums:
   Asatru Lore

Menu

Home
Site Info & Rules
Site Archives
Volunteers Needed
Advertise Here

Pagan Supplies
Buy Pagan Books
Buy Pagan Supplies

Books & Media
Books Home
Games Home
Music: Free | Pagan
Online Books
Pagan Book Browser
Reviews:
   Academic Books
   Divination Decks
   Fiction Books
   Pagan Books
   Speculative Books
   DVD & Videotape
Submit Review

Pagan Features
Article Library
Auctions
Chat Log Index
File Library
Humor
Lessons
Pagan Holidays
Pagan Primer
Pagan Rituals
Pagan Supplies
Pagan Youth
Polls
Reconstructionism
Spell Grimoire [Blog]
Web Resources

Pagan Living
Cauldron Cookbook
Take Political Action

Newsletter
Back Issues
Subscribe

Other Features
eCauldronMail
Greeting Cards
Syndicated Articles
World News/Opinion

Shopping
Cheap Web Hosting
Doxy's Bazaar
Witchcraft Course
Zazzle

Old Indexes
Article Index
Webcrafting Index

Network Sites
Cauldron and Candle
Cauldron's Grimoire
RetroRoleplaying
RetroRoleplaying: The Blog
Software Gadgets
The Terran Empire

Site Search
Google
Entire Web
The Cauldron

Member - Pagan Forum Alliance
Charter Member

Get Firefox! While this web site is designed to work in all major browsers, we recommend Firefox.

This site hosted on
a Linode VPS
Formerly hosted by

Why Use Dreamhost?

Site copyright
© 1998-2009
by Randall

Home > Books & Reviews > Speculative > The Virgin Mary Conspiracy Search

Order from Amazon.com
Buying books via our Amazon.com links helps support The Cauldron.
Book Review:
The Virgin Mary Conspiracy: The True Father of Christ and the Tomb of the Virgin

1591430437
Author: Graham Phillips
Trade Paperback, 304 pages
Publisher: Bear and Company
Publication date: 2005
List: US$18.00, C$23.95
ISBN: 1591430437
Price & More Info: Click Here


 
Graham Phillips has written books on The Knights Templar, Atlantis, and Mary Magdalene. In this book, which is a U.S reissue of The Marian Conspiracy published in the U.K. in 2000, he approaches one of the more popular of current topics (the Holy Grail of Christianity) from a slightly different angle than most current authors. The current, popular, theory about the unorthodox interpretation of the meaning of the Grail is that it refers to the family Jesus - specifically his wife (Mary Magdalene) and any children he may have had. Mr. Phillips approaches from the opposite direction. He looks at the mother of Jesus as being "the container of the holy blood of Jesus," which she must have been, since he was born of her.

One thing I especially like about this book is that each chapter concludes with a clearly written summary of the major points which have been addressed, thus making it easy to review what has gone before.

Much of the basic material covered by this author will be familiar to those fairly conversant with early Christian history, although his interpretations and conclusions may seem fairly to quite unorthodox. There is no new information in here, but the background is laid out carefully and clearly. The gradual evolution of Mary from a simple wife and mother of the first century of the Common Era into a being only slightly less divine than her son is examined, dissected, and re-assembled.

Accepting the premise that the Grail refers to the sacred bloodline of Jesus, and the author's assumption that his mother is the source of the legend (and not his wife, Mary Magdalene) leads the reader on a Grail Quest. While journeying through this quest, Mr. Phillips sidesteps the "normal" site of Avalon (Glastonbury). He looks further a field. He finds his journey leading him to the island of Anglesey, which may have been the site of sacred Druid site replaced by a chapel built (allegedly) by Joseph of Arimathea. Whether you accept these ideas or not, the story is fascinating and well-told.

I'm not sure how well the scholarship and research going into this work holds up, not being a specialist in the field. And I'm not sure about the connection between this subject and the search for the historical Arthur (although the connection to the Grail legend is fairly obvious). Having said the above, I must admit that I enjoyed being taken along on this journey by Mr. Phillips. He took me from the Vatican to Jerusalem to the island of Anglesey, off the coast of Wales, with small side trips. Along the way he made me feel like I was with him, sharing the experience.

The conclusions of the author may or may not be acceptable, or palatable, to everyone (or even to the majority of readers), but they should be responsible for stimulating thought and discussion. That, in my opinion, is all anyone can ask.

Reviewed by Mike Gleason


Top | Home | Message Board | Site Info & Rules | Report Site Problems
Thanks to Cauldron Sponsors
(Sponsor The Cauldron!)

Cheap Web Hosting Report | Pagan & Magick Supplies
Witchcraft Course
Download Hundreds of Magic Spells